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Okay, this has been going on for a while and we've been to the vet several times. I've tried everything, so I'm reaching out for ideas.
My dog is about 14 years old. She has gastric problems. Basically, what happens is she'll be okay for a while, and then she get these "episodes" where her abdomen gets tight like a drum. It's not bloating. It appears to be some type of irritable bowel syndrome.
Anyhow, she gets these episodes of tummy cramps and it keeps us awake all night with me rubbing her stomach. I have to massage her stomach to move things through and ease the pain. Sometimes she releases gas. Sometimes it's like she's constipated, too.
If she has a bowel movement the next day, it seems she feels better.
So my question is this: What do I feed her? She just came through another episode and tonight looks very skinny. Ribs are showing. The only thing I fed her today was white rice and cooked flounder mashed together, small quantities a few hours apart so I could see if she could handle it. (Sometimes she'll throw the food back up.) I also gave her a spoonful of lowfat plain yogurt.
When she is feeling better, I'll feed her brown rice and boiled chicken breasts and a daily vitamin. Sometimes I add bone meal, squash, and something green. Sometimes I slip and give her a piece of bread crust or cooked egg white left over from my breakfast.
I have no idea what causes these episodes. Vet said something about pancreatitis in older dogs. We've done blood works ups, etc.
Poor old dog. She is like an infant all over again. I have to carry her to go outside. It happens. I'd just like to know what to feed her.
I give my dogs 1 raw carrot a day. It seems to keep things moving alone, good fiber. I had a cat with IBS, she got steroid shots every so often. I could tell when it was time b/c she'd throw up yellowish bile. Good luck.
IMO, you're on the right track. I'd drop the brown rice and stick with the white rice, but OVERCOOK it in lots chicken broth. Brown rice has lots more fiber than white rice, and that's irritating. By overcooking the white rice, it's easier to digest and cooking it in chicken broth (low sodium) makes it a little more nutritious.
Many dogs don't do well with fish. Your dog could be one of them. And it doesn't happen right away, but with repeated exposure.
I'd stick to the chicken breast (white meat is better because it's less greasy than dark meat) gently poached and then cut up into tiny pieces. That with the rice should be helpful for her.
Yup, as above, chicken and white rice has always seemed to calm my dog's GI tract. And, even chicken broth in between (low sodium or better yet, homeade). For constipation, cats use pumpkin (not the pie filling--just straight pumpkin, maybe 3 tbls./day--supposed to help both constipation and diarrhea). I don't see why it wouldn't help dogs, too.
IMO, you're on the right track. I'd drop the brown rice and stick with the white rice, but OVERCOOK it in lots chicken broth. Brown rice has lots more fiber than white rice, and that's irritating. By overcooking the white rice, it's easier to digest and cooking it in chicken broth (low sodium) makes it a little more nutritious.
Many dogs don't do well with fish. Your dog could be one of them. And it doesn't happen right away, but with repeated exposure.
I'd stick to the chicken breast (white meat is better because it's less greasy than dark meat) gently poached and then cut up into tiny pieces. That with the rice should be helpful for her.
Hope she's better soon.
Well, I just spent a lot of money on Whole Foods flounder, which I was hoping would be easier to digest than chicken.
I'll stick to white rice for now, but I had to add physillium because otherwise she gets constipated and then we run into problems all over again.
These "episodes" really zap her energy. She turns into a floppy rag doll. When I take her outside, she will literally collapse on her back legs. Some of it is a little drama, I know, because she likes it when I carry her around and baby her, but still.
Today she is getting some strength back, but her ribs are showing, and that bothers me. She seems to be doing okay on the baked flounder and white rice. It's all one big mush, but I feed it to her in very small bits.
Chappy. I would try your dog on tins of chappy. I think my dog has the same thing that yours does, he really lost his appitite a while ago, he lost weight and started having these episodes of stomach pain where he was crying and all tucked up in his belly. I had heard that Chappy was a very easily digestable dog food and good for dogs with IBS. At first my dog was not too impressed with the food but after a week or so he got his appitite back and now he yums it down. He has had these episodes since but they have been milder and I can always connect it to him eating somethig else the day before like a cheewey.
I hope this helps
Charlotte
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